El Andalous - Rats, Fifth Night

Palm Beach Plaza, Sahl Hasheesh

I phoned Medhat in the morning to let him know that I was still having problems. He came in with two other guys and discussed the mesh that they’d put over my vent. It was all in Arabic, so I don’t actually know what was being said, but it looked as if Medhat was saying they should pull the mesh over tighter, although nothing was actually done about it.

In the end, he said he would come back and put a stronger glue down than they had for the current glue traps. I was still not convinced.

That evening was the dinner party at Kathleen’s (thank you, Kath!) – ladies only, so it was me, Nicole, Kathleen, Safi, and Jacquie. I ate beforehand, because I wasn’t too sure whether it was a social gathering with nibbles or a proper dinner party and then regretted it because of the huge spread that Kathleen had laid on for us. I’m delighted to report back that there was chicken available! I passed on the cheese starters, but there was plenty of other stuff (too much!!) to eat.

I’d started going there with the best of intentions and had tried to bring my bottle of wine with me, but I’d only gone a few steps down the corridor when the wine bottle banged so hard against my crutches that I decided it was best to leave it behind. Getting in the lift up to the next floor was also a challenge because I was scared the doors would close on me, so I contorted myself into a position where I thought I could not be knocked over.

It was good to see someone else’s flat (although I didn’t look around because it felt like too much effort with the crutches). I suspect she had a beautiful view and she had it looking very homely; it made me realise that I still have to do some work on mine, although at the moment that’s impossible, of course. I can’t even unpack my shipped stuff yet.

We swapped anecdotes about how we decided to come here – it seems that a few had also considered India. Safi had already lived in Egypt for a while, and Nicole has been here in Sahl Hasheesh for some years as well, so it is good to have some seasoned contacts now. I managed to find out from Nicole that I needed to insist if I wanted to give Yasser a tip, and that it helps if you tell him that it is for his family. I will learn things bit by bit.

My evening was slightly hampered by my constant underlying worry that the rodents were having a party in my flat while I was out. I had left the lights on and had put the television on to try to deter them, but I wasn’t sure how effective this would all be.

I was the first to leave at 11.30pm. Knocking on my front door to scare any rodents away before I came in, I entered tentatively and noisily – a bit of a bizarre combination. I couldn’t see any rodents. I couldn’t hear any scratchings, bangings, or other untoward noises.

I blocked the gap under my bedroom door, kept my bedside light on again, listened out for any noises, but it seemed quiet. Eventually, I went to sleep.